The present invention is directed to integrated circuits and their processing for the manufacture of semiconductor devices. More particularly, the invention provides a method and device for manufacturing a metal inter-connect structure exhibiting reduced defects. Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to a copper metal damascene structure such as a dual damascene structure for advanced signal processing devices. But it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability. For example, the invention can be applied to microprocessor devices, memory devices, application specific integrated circuit devices, as well as various other interconnect structures.
Integrated circuits or “ICs” have evolved from a handful of interconnected devices fabricated on a single chip of silicon to millions of devices. Current ICs provide performance and complexity far beyond what was originally imagined. In order to achieve improvements in complexity and circuit density (i.e., the number of devices capable of being packed onto a given chip area), the size of the smallest device feature, also known as the device “geometry”, has become smaller with each generation of ICs. Semiconductor devices are now being fabricated with features less than a quarter of a micron across.
Increasing circuit density has not only improved the complexity and performance of ICs but has also provided lower cost parts to the consumer. An IC fabrication facility can cost hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars. Each fabrication facility will have a certain throughput of wafers, and each wafer will have a certain number of ICs on it. Therefore, by making the individual devices of an IC smaller, more devices may be fabricated on each wafer, thus increasing the output of the fabrication facility. Making devices smaller is very challenging, as each process used in IC fabrication has a limit. That is to say, a given process typically only works down to a certain feature size, and then either the process or the device layout needs to be changed. An example of such a limit is the ability to form interchanging metal and dielectric layers, where the metal layers to not interact with each other in the form of noise.
As merely an example, aluminum metal layers have been the choice of material for semiconductor devices as long as such layers have been used in the first integrated circuit device. Aluminum had been the choice since it provides good conductivity and sticks to dielectric materials as well as semiconductor materials.
Most recently, aluminum metal layers have been replaced, in part, by copper interconnects. Copper interconnects have been used with low k dielectric materials to form advanced conventional semiconductor devices. Copper has improved resistance values of aluminum for propagating signals through the copper interconnect at high speeds.
As devices become smaller and demands for integration become greater, limitations in copper and low k dielectric materials include unwanted migration of Cu material into other portions of the integrated circuit. Accordingly, conducting copper features are typically encased within barrier materials such as silicon nitride, which impede the diffusion of the copper.
Cu dislocation at post-CMP copper surface and SiN cap is one of top killer mechanisms affecting copper backend reliability failures as well as electric failures. One example of such a failure is local bridging of two or multiple metal lines by HTOL stress.
Cu dislocation includes copper mass migration, void formation during grain growth, and grain boundary reorganization. Controlling Cu dislocation is a key solution to improve reliability and yield issues due to such related fail modes.
FIG. 1A shows simplified cross-sectional view of a copper feature 2 formed within dielectric 4 and sealed by overlying silicon nitride barrier layer 6. FIG. 1A shows that the presence of topography such as hillocks 8 and voids 10 in the copper, can produce uneven thickness and passivation in the overlying SiN barrier layer. As a result, upon exposure of the copper-containing structure to a thermal cycle, stress release along grain boundaries of the copper can result in unwanted migration, breaking the SiN barrier.
FIG. 1B is a TEM micrograph showing a cross section of metal bridging after stress due to copper dislocation. FIG. 1B shows the electrically stressed metal lines fabricated without copper dislocation control, where bulk copper migration outside of trench is seen. This migration caused an electric short and destroyed the functionality of the die.
From the above, it is seen that an improved technique for processing semiconductor devices is desired.